The near full blue moon rising over the ashes of the Oasis of Mara, Joshua Tree National Park - 3.30.18 I've given some thought as to what I might write in this post, with every thought coming into another turn of silence. This wasn't an easy shot for me to take but yet I had no choice. Nearing a week ago, with the horrific act of mankind on a sacred place to not only us "Americans" but to the Serrano Americans most importantly. The Serrano are the indigenous tribe of native people that lived in this great valley long before any immigrant man. With a deliberate and conscious action, an individual sought to destroy the sacred 29 Palms of the Oasis of Mara. The story of the oasis goes as such.. The oasis was first settled by the Serrano who called it Mara, meaning "the place of little springs and much grass." Legend holds the Serrano came to the oasis because a medicine man had told them it was a good place to live and that they would have many boy babies. The medicine man instructed them to plant a palm tree each time a boy was born... As it would come to be, in the first year the Serrano planted 29 palm trees at the oasis. The palms provided the Serrano with food, clothing, cooking implements and shelter. In addition, the palms have come to be a beautiful habitat for a wide variety of desert creatures from colorful orioles. I'm truly at a loss for words surrounding the images taken on this very night.. In the light of the near full rising Blue Worm Moon, the scene was cast in an ominous blue light that said more than any words could ever possibly come to mind. My thought was to capture the destruction and dominance of modern man's mind over the past and history of these special lands. Though that image came to be, I was captivated by the rising moon to the east. As the moon came into full view I was able to capture this image of a lone bird sitting on the burned remains of one of the sacred 29 Palms, in a bold statement that we will always persevere over the ill will of others and that nature is more powerful than any man could ever be.. Let this be a reminder to us all.. Single Exposure, 1.3 seconds, f/14, ISO 50, @200mm (further cropped), Canon 5D Mk III, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM Mk II | Joshua Tree National Park Landscape Photography | frankcolosiphotography.com
